With over 25 years of leadership experience, Wilna is a skilled professional in conceptualising and managing projects that focus on human social development. Wilna joins Field Band in 2023 after 11 years as the Chief Executive Officer of the Tshwane Leadership Foundation. Throughout her career, Wilna has initiated strategic partnerships with local government partners and tertiary institutions and created successful long-term funding partnerships with key international agencies, including USAID, the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission, Bread for the World, and Comic Relief. She has served on six different non-profit company boards and is a Senior Associate of Leadership Foundations Africa. Wilna has a tertiary education certificate in dealing with children with behavioural difficulties, a bachelor’s degree in social work, and a master’s degree in theology from UNISA with a specialisation in narrative therapy.

Ushama holds a Bachelor’s Degree (Honours) in Music (University of Cape Town) and completed her Master’s in Business Administration (Henley) in 2017. She has undertaken various leadership courses in Dubai and Australia as part of her career with MacDonalds – she was part of the mobilisation team that opened the first stores in South Africa in 1997. She has been employed in several sectors of business and occupied management roles in the Foschini Group, OR Tambo International Airport, the Kruger National Park and Johnson Controls. She has worked internationally in Operations and Hospitality, and brings a wealth of experience in Human Resources, Logistics and Systems Management to the challenges of the development sector.

With a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management from University of Warwick in UK, BComm from University of South Africa (UNISA), Associate Banking and Licentiate Banking Diplomas from the Institute of Bankers South Africa and International Diploma in Professional Consciousness Coaching from Creative Consciousness Academy in Holland. Thuli brings with her a wealth of human capital transformation experience. Her two decades of professional endeavours in the fields of banking, retail and aviation experience have afforded strong relationships in the private sector. Thuli has served as a Council Member of University of Zululand for seven years and was Chairperson of the Board for Kids Haven, a home for homeless children in Benoni for seven years. She is also a non-executive director for Reimagine South Africa (RISA) and Knysna Institute of Learning and Training (KILT).

Jerusha is a Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, Information Designer and Entrepreneur who brings with her a wealth of passion and experience in data innovation. Jerusha holds a Masters of Public Health from the University of Cape Town as well as a Masters in Public and Development Management from the University of the Witwatersrand. She has been working in the development sector for 15 years and founded her own company in 2015, Data Innovator, through which she has led projects across Africa, North America and Europe reaching more than 50 organisations. The company has grown with the introduction of new partners and re-established as Data Innovators Group. Jerusha has served on the South African M&E Association board, MERL Tech Jozi Steering Committee and Responsible Data in M&E in Africa Working group. She has conducted many evaluations on development initiatives and programmes at various organisational, national and regional levels.

Thembi is a seasoned human capital professional with more than 20 years’ extensive experience in both private and public sectors. Her experience covers the entire human resources value chain, including recruitment, learning and management, HRIS and employee relations. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Education as well as a Diploma in Human Resources and Labour Relations. As part of her continuous professional development, she is a business coach certified by the Gordon Institute of Business Science, and recently completed a Change Management programme at the University of Cape Town. Thembi is passionate about ensuring that companies and organisations take care of their employees by maintaining productive and respectful working environments. She also believes in measuring and communicating the value of our human capital, which is the most critical element of an organisation being able to achieve strategic objectives. Her personal values are accountability, integrity, honesty, compassion and perseverance. From these standpoints, being able to give back to communities and serve from her professional expertise, will always be something Thembi incorporates into her life.

Currently a Senior Manager at ABSA, Hemant has over a decade of senior management and leadership experience for multi-national organisations, including the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply Southern Africa, Afrox and BHP Billiton. He specializes in navigating ambiguous business environments, reducing complexity and formulating strategy with effective alignment of resources and transversal functions. He is successful in driving growth and operational efficiencies, with a proven record of improving the bottom line. His BSC (Hons) in Chemical Engineering is supplemented with an MBA from University of Pretoria, and a professional Global Talent Circle Management Development course from Linde University, Munich, Germany. He is also a member of the Institute of Directors (IODSA) and has completed their Certified Director Assessment.

Lulu comes from the arts sector originally and used her communication skills, relationship management abilities and creative understanding of people to create an award-winning corporate career in leading international companies, including BHP Billiton, Pioneer Foods Group Limited, Amazon Web Services and Sasol Limited. Currently heading Corporate Affairs for Woolworths, she brings invaluable experience in integrating environmental and social impact for growth and profitability, as well as leveraging brands, managing transformation and maintaining high standards in delivery of value-added services. She holds a Post-Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Business from the University of Cambridge, Honours and Education degrees from Rhodes University.

Dudu has an Honours Degrees in Social Work from University of Fort Hare and additional qualifications in Managerial Finance and Digital Marketing, which have supported a successful career in marketing, brand strategy and communications. She has successfully lead marketing teams in southern Africa and branding agencies in Nigeria and East Africa and specialises in driving new business development to deliver agreed return on investment. She has extensive experience in design and implementing research studies to determine the needs of clients in complex environments. Her intellectual rigor imbues technical discussions with compassion and emotional intelligence, which has enabled her to be an effective strategic advisor. She has a strong social conscience which informs her work, whether it is in the health sector, media or social enterprise development. She is passionate about youth development as well as women empowerment and is addressing the plight of fatherless boys and their mothers. She is an experienced non-executive Director with corporate governance knowledge and she believes, like Mahatma Gandhi, that “we have to be the change we want to see in our world”.